


Synopsis: Not To Be

by dairesfanficrefuge_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Meta, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-31
Updated: 2003-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-18 07:02:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11869080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist/pseuds/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atDaire's Fanfic Refuge. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onDaire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile.





	Synopsis: Not To Be

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Daire's Fanfic Refuge](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Daire%27s_Fanfic_Refuge). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Daire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/dairesfanficrefuge/profile).

Not To Be

**NOT TO BE**

Duncan was raised to be a warrior long before he became Immortal. Since his youth in the Highlands, he has battled and killed-for causes, for friends, often merely to survive. Now he is drained and combat-weary: all of his efforts seem futile and wasted. 

'Nothing ever changes,' he says to Fitz, as he sinks into depression. 

He could not bear the thought of losing yet another friend, so when Liam O'Rourke kidnapped Joe and Amanda, Duncan willingly relinquished his sword and offered up his own head, in exchange for their lives. This act of submission is completely out of character for him. 

Methos, ever practical, does not want to lose Immortality's best hope. He shoots Liam, giving Duncan a chance to get away. However, Duncan too, has been shot and 'killed'. He awakens to a guided 'It's a Wonderful Life' tour from an angelic, ever puckish Hugh Fitzcairn. 

Fitz's mission is to make Duncan see the difference he _has_ made in people's lives. He shows MacLeod a world where Duncan MacLeod never _did_ and never _will_ exist. In 'To Be,' Duncan has already met a murderous black widow Amanda, an alcoholic loser Joe Dawson, and a very much alive, diabolical James Horton. Horton has corrupted the Watcher organization into a bunch of deranged, obsessed vigilantes high on testosterone, who are not content merely to observe and record. 

Their mission is to exterminate every Immortal. And they know exactly how it can be done. 

In this episode, Duncan will learn what becomes of Richie, without the Highlander's guidance. Kronos and Methos resurrect the Four Horsemen unimpeded. And Joe, poor Joe... deteriorates further into an angry, self-pitying, self-hating failure. 

As 'Not To Be' opens, Fitz has decided to show Duncan someone closer, someone whose life he touched more intimately than the others.... his beloved Tessa. 

This is the conclusion of a two-parter and the last episode of the series. However, it is not the conclusion of the Highlander's exploits. His adventures continue in fan-fic and movies. His name, along with that of Joe, Amanda, Methos, Fitz, Tessa, et al. is enshrined on countless websites, bulletin boards, chats, and adorns endless memorabilia. 

He remains in our hearts and memories-a figure of nobility, compassion, strength, courage- and ultimately, of inspiration. 

**In The End...There Can Be Only One!**

May it forever be...Duncan MacLeod. The Highlander 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

**_New Characters:_**

**ANDRES SEGUY** \- Tessa's husband in this alternate universe. 

**JILLIAN O'HARA** \- A Watcher and Methos's love in this universe. 

* * *

Recap of 'To Be' 

Liam O'Rourke-   
Has a grudge against Mac-   
Over an incident-   
Fifty years back.   
Liam has kidnapped-   
Amanda and Joe,   
Vowing their deaths-   
If MacLeod doesn't show. 

'It's a trap,' Methos warns.   
Mac scorns his advice.   
He cannot let his friends-   
Pay the ultimate price.   
Too many of them,   
Of late, he has lost.   
This battle is his,   
Whatever the cost. 

He does the unthinkable,   
Offers his head!   
No struggle, no fight,   
Meek surrender, instead.   
But Methos does not-   
Share Mac's sense of honor.   
He shoots O'Rourke down-   
Before Mac's a goner. 

In the skirmish that follows,   
MacLeod is shot, too.   
He awakens to find-   
A friend old, and true.   
Fitzcairn, now an angel,   
Minus halo and wings,   
His mission...make Mac-   
Cognizant of some things. 

Fitz shows Mac a world-   
Where so much is twisted-   
'Cause Duncan MacLeod-   
Never existed.   
He wants Mac to see-   
How his noble drives-   
Have altered events-   
And changed peoples' lives. 

In this world, Amanda-   
Graduated from thieving.   
She now kills her husbands,   
Then playing the grieving-   
Widow, collects-   
Their fortunes and then,   
She marries and does it-   
All over again! 

Fitz allows Mac to try-   
And alter her fate,   
But, he offers too little,   
And arrives way too late.   
Horton's Watchers behead her,   
And a horrified Mac-   
Wonders why Dawson couldn't-   
Thwart the attack? 

Here, Joe's a bum-   
In an alcohol haze,   
Bathed in self-pity,   
He drags through his days-   
Begging for change,   
He hadn't the spunk-   
To stand up to Horton,   
He'd rather be drunk. 

Mac sees a live Horton-   
Murder a kid,   
A Watcher who joined-   
Just because _Dawson_ did.   
MacLeod's brokenhearted,   
He offers Joe aid,   
But Joe's deeply mired-   
In the mess, he has made. 

'Can't you _see,_ ' begs Fitzcairn-   
What a _difference_ you've made?'   
But Mac's so despondent-   
Fitz cannot dissuade-   
Him from his depression.   
Why talk of success?   
What good was his life?   
And then...he sees Tess. 

The story continues... In Front of Sacré-Coeur 

Mac's eyes drink her in,   
Every elegant move-   
Is gentle perfection...   
No art could improve.   
Her face, ever lovely-   
Wears a faint look of sadness,   
But, in a moment-   
It sparkles with gladness. 

That smile, Mac recalls-   
How it heightened her charms!   
Now it shines for two children-   
That rush to her arms.   
There's a lump in his throat,   
In his heart, a cold shiver   
Seeing her hold these gifts-   
That he never could give her. 

'At least, she is happy.'   
Mac's glad for her joy.   
But he _must_ speak to her...   
Eager as a schoolboy.   
'Whoa, laddie!' warns Fitz,   
'You must not forget,   
That here, in this world-   
You and she, never met.' 

Moments Later 

He finds Tess, inside-   
The 'Galerie Noel',   
On the phone with a man-   
Whose name rings a bell.   
Dennis Berry. (Coincidence?)   
But all MacLeod sees-   
As he drinks her in now-   
Are intense memories. 

The way her hands moved,   
As she sculpted a form.   
Her passion and fire,   
Her presence, so warm.   
And then...all destroyed-   
For a small bit of cash,   
'Cause _he_ wasn't there,   
All of this...in a flash. 

Fitzcairn was _so_ right,   
Tess _doesn't_ know him.   
'I'm Duncan...MacLeod,'   
He decides, on a whim-   
To let her believe-   
That he was once one-   
Of her fellow art students,   
At the Sorbonne. 

'That was long ago,'   
Wistfully, she thinks back.   
She no longer sculpts.   
That's staggering, to Mac.   
'Your hands were like _magic,_ '   
As his fingers caress-   
A nude female torso-   
As he did once to Tess. 

She's aroused and intrigued-   
By this tall handsome stranger-   
Who valued her work,   
Does she sense the danger?   
But he's so compelling,   
She's light-headed, dizzy,   
Then a shopper reminds her,   
She'd better get busy. 

A Café, Short Time Later 

'How could she _do_ it?'   
Mac wonders to Fitz.   
'Give up her sculpting?   
Calling it quits?'   
'No buyers, MacLeod'   
With delight in his eyes,   
Fitz orders them scotches,   
To Duncan's surprise. 

Mac stares at Fitzcairn,   
'I didn't think-   
That the dead were still able-   
To eat and to drink.'   
'No Guinness? Champagne?   
Strawberries and cream?'   
That _would_ be true hell-   
To Fitz, it would seem. 

'Duncan?' _Her voice!_   
Fitz is suddenly gone!   
Tess joins a stunned Duncan,   
Neither sure what goes on.   
He orders the drink-   
He recalls she'd prefer...   
Then another man's voice-   
Beckons to her. 

He approaches their table,   
Buzzes her cheek.   
She doesn't seem thrilled,   
But polite, ever chic-   
Introduces her husband,   
Andres Seguy,   
'My friend studied art-   
At the Sorbonne with me.' 

'Great times, I'm sure...'   
Hubby says to the Scot.   
Smoothly deprecating,   
'But the real world, it's not.'   
To him, what's important-   
Is a financial winner,   
But, fool that he is,   
He invites Mac to dinner. 

He and Tessa must run,   
Mac gives Tess a wave.   
Then Fitz reappears-   
With a look stern and grave.   
'You're playing with fire!'   
But, his warning rings hollow.   
Mac picks up his scotch,   
Draining it, with one swallow. 

The Seguy Residence, That Evening 

As she fixes her hair-   
Tessa feels trepidation,   
Begging Andres, 'Let's take-   
A little vacation.'   
But, his business consumes him,   
No time for his honey,   
Pointing out that her gallery-   
Keeps losing money. 

'Our life-style's expensive,   
Private schools, fancy house.'   
Though an unfeeling bore,   
He cares for his spouse.   
He relents, telling Tess-   
To make preparations,   
Too engaged to arrange-   
His own reparations. 

8:00 PM 

Outside, Mac confronts-   
His own indecision,   
But, he pushes the bell-   
His reward is a vision-   
Of Tessa, his love...   
He basks in her glow.   
Then shares in her shame,   
When her husband must go. 

Yes, Hubby's phone call-   
Says he needs to attend,   
Urgent business, so sorry...   
But Tessa's old friend-   
And she, must have many-   
Old tales to discuss.   
So, he'll leave them alone,   
How ingenuous. 

'I should go,' says MacLeod.   
It's the right thing to do.   
'I wish you could stay.'   
They both know it's true.   
But in this world,   
She's another man's wife.   
He'll go...but one question-   
About Tessa's life. 

'What _happened?_ ' he asks,   
'When you left the Sorbonne?   
Your art had such passion,   
Why not carry on?'   
'Passion puts no-   
Food on the table,   
Or a roof overhead,   
I tried, was unable.' 

'No one cares for my work,'   
She tells the Highlander,   
'I do,' In his eyes-   
Sincerity, candor.   
'I've saved a few pieces.'   
Her face, now aglow.   
'Would you care to see them?'   
How can he say 'no'? 

Conservatory/Studio 

She's not entered here-   
In a very long time.   
Sheets cover her sculptures,   
Keeping off dirt and grime.   
MacLeod pulls the cloth-   
From a very large piece.   
His chest starts to pound-   
With his heartbeat's increase. 

'Inamorata...   
Two lovers were meant...   
To be one, forever...   
But, the gods' sole intent-   
Was to keep them forever-   
Apart...' his voice breaks.   
' _How can you know that?_ '   
Now Tessa's heart aches. 

The night before Tessa-   
So tragically died,   
Planning their marriage,   
They lay side by side.   
'Do you believe...'   
She murmured, 'in fate?'   
He now asks that question-   
To Tess, his soulmate. 

'I want to.' She says,   
Seeing tears fill his eyes,   
They run down his cheek,   
And they both realize-   
What binds them together,   
Through time, space and years.   
In defiance of death,   
Their love, perseveres. 

With passion, they merge,   
Uniting in fire,   
Each refreshing the other-   
With boundless desire.   
Destined each for the other,   
Had the gods but allowed,   
'Inamorata',   
Tess and MacLeod. 

Then, exhausted...he sleeps,   
But awakes before long,   
Sensing that somehow-   
Something's gone wrong.   
Tess stands cold and silent,   
With sorrow, beset.   
'My husband, my children,'   
She's filled with regret. 

Now he realizes-   
What it is, he has done.   
After tasting true pleasure,   
Tessa's life gives her none.   
'I thought I was happy.'   
Now all she can see,   
How empty life's been,   
And, without him, will be. 

'Please, Duncan...just go.'   
She can't bear the sight-   
Of what is denied her,   
After this night.   
MacLeod's left alone,   
Bemoaning what was.   
This Tessa's now lost,   
Whatever he does. 

A Bar, Later 

Mac to Fitz: 'You should never-   
Have let me go there.'   
Fitz to Mac: 'You just showed her-   
That her life was bare.   
She would have seen it-   
With, or without you.   
It's her destiny here,   
It isn't about you.' 

'Que será, será,   
What will be, will be.'   
Fitz quotes the Spanish,   
Then he jumps up to see-   
The barmaid, whose neckline...   
(Or severe lack thereof),   
Has aroused his libido,   
Even dead, he seeks love. 

While Fitz pursues-   
His wench, with good cheer,   
Someone else wants attention,   
'Hey! Gimme a _beer!_ '   
He belittles the barmaid,   
Calls her a tart!   
' _Methos,_ ' says Mac,   
Staring at the upstart. 

'What's your problem?' snarls Methos,   
With a menacing look.   
Clad in black leather,   
He sure wrote the book-   
On nasty. 'You look-   
Like you know me,' he stares.   
'But you _don't_ know me.'   
Icy daggers, he glares. 

'Maybe it's your-   
Sweet disposition.'   
Mac's only seen Methos-   
In this vile condition-   
When Methos first bragged-   
How he raped and killed,   
That he relished the power,   
Pure evil, distilled. 

Methos grabs MacLeod's hand-   
Giving it a quick twist,   
Does MacLeod have a Watcher-   
Tattoo on his wrist?   
'Keep your eyes to yourself!'   
Methos spits out advice.   
This Methos would kill Mac-   
Without thinking twice. 

Fitz flatters the barmaid,   
With glib subtlety,   
Seduction has always-   
Been his specialty,   
'Don't forget,' Mac advises,   
'That _here,_ you are _dead!_ '   
Because of _me,_ didn't-   
Kalas cut off your head?' 

'Oh, I'm _dead_ all right,   
But _here,_ it appears-   
I've been dead for two hundred-   
And eighty long years!   
When I tried to blow-   
King George up...Alas!   
No lummoxing Scotsman-   
Saved my poor ass!' 

'So, I kept my appointment-   
With the old headman's ax,   
And my life, way back then-   
Reached its climax.   
Don't know how you feel,   
We may not agree,   
But those extra years-   
Were important, to me.' 

'Don't worry, I'm fine.'   
Fitzcairn goes on,   
'But your friend Methos-   
Is pretty far gone.'   
'What _happened?_ ' asks Mac,   
'Something all of us do,   
He fell in love,   
Very simple, but true.' 

FLASH! They've returned-   
To 1995.   
There stands the oldest-   
Immortal alive.   
Jillian, his love-   
Wants 'Adam' to stop-   
His Watcher pretense,   
And, his masquerade, drop. 

'They _know_ you. They _like_ you!'   
With zeal, Jillian speaks.   
'They'll see that Immortals-   
Are _human,_ not _freaks._ '   
But, 'Adam' has seen-   
Reality's truth,   
For five thousand years,   
Since he was a youth. 

'When the Turks killed Armenians,   
And Hitler gassed Jews,   
The fact they were human-   
Didn't alter their views.   
Once they were labeled-   
As abominations,   
One could rationalize-   
Their annihilations.' 

Jillian warns him, 'Do something...   
Soon war will arrive.'   
Shouts 'Adam,' 'I _am!_   
I'm staying _alive!_ '   
In the end, that is all-   
That matters, he's sure,   
They embrace, in the hope-   
Love will keep them secure. 

'He loved her,' sighs Fitz.   
'Not content to just bed her,   
His trust ran so deep-   
He determined to wed her.   
He'd purchased the ring,   
Was about to propose,   
When she brought to his door-   
The wolf, in sheep's clothes.' 

'HORTON! She told him-   
Adam Pierson's Immortal.   
She thought she was right-   
When she opened that portal.'   
'This is our chance!'   
With joy, her eyes filling,   
'Our chance,' she insists...   
'To stop all the killing.' 

Horton: 'I can't agree!'   
As he shoots Jillian dead!   
'Adam' freezes with shock,   
Watchers fill him with lead!   
Then, crashing in-   
With his own gunfire spray-   
Is _Kronos,_ to the rescue-   
But, Horton slips away. 

' _Greetings, brother!_ ' hears Methos   
As he painfully wakes,   
Seeing Kronos above him.   
Then, his heart breaks...   
'Forgive me,' begs Jillian...   
Breathing her last.   
'Methos, bitter, hate-filled-   
Will revert to his past.' 

'I thought,' Duncan says,   
'That Methos had changed.'   
'Not enough,' responds Fitz,   
'Kronos had arranged-   
To unite the Four Horsemen,   
Finding Methos, he did it.   
With no Duncan MacLeod-   
Around, to forbid it.' 

'A pity for him,   
And for Richie, as well.'   
'What happened to _Richie?_ '   
(Mac awaits the bombshell).   
'Another sad story,   
Petty thief, maladjusted,   
Ran off to Mexico,   
When he got busted.' 

'There's where he died-   
That very first time,   
Shot while committing-   
Some trivial crime.   
He awoke unaware-   
Of what he'd become,   
Or where all those hunters-   
With swords had come from.' 

'No teacher to train him,   
On the run night and day.   
How _did_ killers find him?   
Why was _he_ their prey?   
He finally found-   
An Immortal, to guide him.   
But, it was Methos...   
With Kronos, beside him.' 

Mac watches intently-   
As Richie delivers-   
A money-filled suitcase-   
To his lesson-givers.   
Richie swigs whisky,   
Accepting their praise.   
But with his next 'test'-   
The ante, they'll raise. 

He smirks, 'I'm your man.'   
But, these stakes are high.   
'The man's name is Dawson,   
And he has to die.   
He killed our brothers.'   
Methos irate, and nettled...   
'For Caspian and Silas-   
The score must be settled. 

Still Back in 1995 

FLASH! They're at Dawson's.   
Joe's just walking in.   
He seems the same Dawson-   
That he's always been.   
Richie's pointing a gun,   
He's been there a while,   
'Don't think of running.'   
Joe flicks a faint smile. 

'Sit!' Rich commands.   
'Now what?' queries Joe.   
' _Now,_ you will _die,_   
'Cause I hate you so.'   
'You don't even _know_ me-   
But, Rich...I know _you._   
Murder's not something-   
You easily do.' 

'We've followed your trail,   
With Watchers around you,   
Too bad, it was Methos-   
That finally found you.'   
'Methos,' states Rich...   
'Is as great as they come!'   
'He _could_ have been, kid,   
But now he is scum.' 

Though Rich holds the gun,   
It is Joe, in control.   
He perceives the good core-   
In this tortured kid's soul.   
Richie's hand trembles,   
Joe probes this soft spot.   
'Don't let Methos turn you-   
Into something, you're not.' 

'A gift you've been given,   
Forever, you'll live.   
Or, forever you'll kill.   
An eternal fugitive.   
This is the Dawson-   
That Mac always knew,   
And Richie's good heart-   
Responds, shining through. 

Later 

Rich contritely, 'I'm sorry-   
I tried; couldn't do it.'   
Methos and Kronos-   
Will make Richie rue it.   
No weak links, they'll have,   
So, they make Richie kneel.   
No second chances-   
Are permitted, they feel. 

Richie pleads for his life,   
'I thought we were _friends._   
'We _are._ ' Methos smiles,   
Then his broadsword extends.   
His eyes cruelly glint,   
'Goodbye, my friend.'   
Without the Highlander,   
This was Richie's end. 

'Where is he, Fitz?'   
MacLeod keeps forgetting...   
In this world, one's fate-   
He cannot be upsetting.   
'MacLeod, any problem-   
To the Front Office take,   
I'm a messenger, only-   
The rules, I don't make.' 

1997 

Two years, have flashed by-   
In the blink of an eye.   
Joe's gone to hell,   
Watching all he loved, die.   
Kronos and Methos,   
Still Horsemen, exhortin'-   
Dawson to cave-   
And rat out James Horton. 

They've carried Joe off-   
To an observatory,   
Isolated and vacant-   
They question their quarry.   
'The Watchers were YOURS!'   
(Ripping open that scar),   
'Horton took them from you,   
Making you what you are!' 

But some twisted sense-   
Of bizarre loyalty-   
Won't let Joe reveal-   
Where Horton might be.   
On these savage killers,   
He won't waste his breath,   
Even when Methos-   
Promises death. 

A noise distracts Kronos.   
An Immortal, it's not.   
Who could be concealed-   
In this remote spot?   
MacLeod leaps upon him,   
No big fight ensues,   
All MacLeod wants-   
Is a blade, he can use. 

Mac knocks Kronos out-   
With a short length of pipe,   
Then goes after Methos,   
That vile archetype-   
Of evil...who killed-   
Mac's student and friend.   
For the murder of Richie-   
His long life must end. 

When the Highlander states-   
His name and his clan-   
He reclaims for himself-   
His place, as a man-   
Who no longer questions-   
What he's meant to do.   
But this Methos answers-   
'Never heard of you.' 

Their blows hard and vicious,   
No frills, or grand show.   
Punctuated by screams,   
'Kill the bastard!' from Joe.   
MacLeod's not Immortal,   
Does Joe sense Mac's right?   
Or (like Horton), is Methos-   
And his kind, a sick blight? 

Methos pulls a knife-   
To settle the score,   
MacLeod's ready for it,   
'Seen that one, before.'   
'What _are_ you?' pants Methos,   
Succumbing, at last,   
Mac: 'I am the Ghost-   
Of Christmas Past!' 

MacLeod whirls around,   
Slashes Methos's head.   
Waits in vain for the Quickening-   
Sees Fitz there, instead.   
'Now you've seen how much...   
The world would be twisted-   
If Duncan MacLeod-   
Had never existed.' 

'Amanda is dead,   
Soon Joe will be, too.   
Tessa drifts into bitterness,   
Forever blue.   
Without any passion,   
She'll find only grief,   
Richie died as he lived,   
An unloved petty thief.' 

'And me, I missed almost-   
Three whole centuries.   
That's a great many women-   
I did not get to please.'   
For the first time Mac laughs,   
Fitz to him, is a brother,   
They embrace tearfully,   
How they miss one another! 

'Now, time to go home,   
You've places to go,   
Friends that are waiting,   
They all need you so.   
The heavenly choir...   
(Hokey, but true),   
Begins to play softly,   
As Fitz bids adieu. 

'And remember', says Fitz-   
'For a long time, I don't-   
Want you here again,'   
Mac assures him, 'I won't.'   
'Look up,' Fitz directs,   
Mac stares into space,   
Then suddenly...Methos-   
Is slapping his face. 

Back in the Trainyard 

Looming above him-   
Is Methos, it seems.   
Is he real or is Mac-   
Still enmeshed in his dreams?   
'Where _am_ I?' 'In Paris.'   
His anxiety's showing...   
'I just saved your life,   
We'd better get going!' 

'You and I...we were fighting!   
You killed Rich, then Joe!'   
'O'Rourke's guy's behind us.   
Stop raving! Let's _go!_ '   
Then, proving his point,   
Now Tom _does_ arrive,   
'Kills' Methos, tells Mac-   
O'Rourke wants _you_ alive.' 

At gunpoint, Tom walks-   
MacLeod up the track,   
Where his boss holds the sword-   
To decapitate Mac.   
Now if Brian and Tom-   
Knew about Immortality-   
Why didn't Tom take-   
Old Guy's head for finality? 

I guess it just slipped-   
His peanut-sized mind,   
But a crucial mistake-   
It was, Tom will find.   
Methos recovers,   
Leaping out like a cat,   
Dispatches old Tom,   
Donning his coat and hat. 

Amanda and Joe,   
With uneasiness, wait.   
Intently they ponder-   
The Highlander's fate.   
Then out of the tunnel,   
Emerges their Mac,   
Tom holds him at gunpoint   
They see only Tom's back. 

' _It's about time!_ '   
Says a gloating O'Rourke.   
Impatient for Mac's-   
Quickening, to uncork.   
'You miss me?' asks Mac,   
Then 'Tom' whirls about,   
He's _Methos!_ Surprise!   
Methos takes Brian out. 

'You gave me your _word!_ '   
Thugs gone from his side,   
O'Rourke must depend-   
On the Highlander's pride.   
'Let's say...' says MacLeod,   
In response to this rogue,   
'I've a slight change of heart.'   
(With the hint of a brogue). 

Mac offers O'Rourke,   
Fair fight, no foul play.   
'No interference,   
The old-fashioned way.'   
O'Rourke realizes-   
That this is the best-   
Offer he'll get.   
He accepts it with zest. 

He throws Mac his sword,   
No more verbiage.   
MacLeod is a master,   
O'Rourke's...average.   
In a minute, it's over!   
Mac's proven his worth,   
Then the power of the Quickening,   
And a hymn of rebirth. 

'Amazing Grace...   
How sweet the sound'   
The lightening bolts sear him,   
As through him, they pound.   
'I once was lost...   
But now, I'm found.'   
With a last wrenching cry,   
He sinks to the ground. 

Amanda is first-   
To arrive at his side.   
'I thought we had lost you.'   
Her doubts nullified.   
With joy and relief-   
They surround him, and then-   
Mac says to us all,   
'Never...never again.' 

What does that mean?   
Nevermore will he doubt-   
His purpose for being?   
It's his fate to live out-   
His Immortal life span,   
Loss and pain, he must bear,   
With his honor intact,   
Never lost to despair. 

As he walks away,   
The three stand alone,   
By being his friends,   
Ever closer, they've grown.   
Yet, as he departs-   
Though we know he'll go on,   
We feel his heart ache-   
For those that are gone. 

The Barge, Later 

He stares at the night,   
Peaceful over the Seine,   
Reliving the past,   
In the Highlands, again.   
Scenes of his life,   
Battles fought, by the score,   
To the plaintive sad notes-   
Of Bonny Portmore. 

Debra, first love-   
How she made his heart sing.   
His death. How he tried-   
To his heritage, cling.   
His lovers and teachers,   
Times joyful and sad,   
Immortality's outcomes,   
Some good and some bad. 

The passion he felt-   
For love, and for war.   
How Darius taught him-   
What's worth fighting for.   
Always he searched,   
Ever hopeful of pleasure-   
To find a new friend-   
To love and to treasure. 

When the Game did intrude-   
On his life's quest,   
He accepted the challenge-   
And passed every test.   
So many, he killed,   
Their Quickenings taken.   
Some necessary,   
All leaving him shaken. 

What he learned from Methos?   
'Life's about change.   
Accept who you are.'   
You can't rearrange-   
Buried deep in your core,   
There is both bad and good.   
You'll torment your soul,   
If that's not understood. 

His life without Mac,   
Joe cannot conceive   
In his heart, he will always-   
Firmly believe....   
That Mac is the One,   
They embrace, with a tear.   
Words cannot express,   
Their love, so sincere. 

To Amanda, 'I love you.'   
'Really?' 'I do...   
'You make my heart glad,   
And you always have, too.'   
And so, the Highlander-   
Disappears in the mist,   
To our hearts, where he's destined   
To forever, exist. 

* * *

| 

BONNY PORTMORE 

A public domain traditional Celtic folk song   
Version sung by Laura Creamer for the Highlander episode 'Not to Be' 

O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand   
And the more I think on you the more I think long   
If I had you now as I had once before   
I would cling to the memory of our love ever more 

O bonny Portmore, I am sorry to see   
Such a woeful destruction of your ornament tree   
For it stood on your shore for many's the long day   
Till the long boats from Antrim came to float it away. 

O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand   
And the more I think on you the more I think long   
If I had you now as I had once before   
I would cling to the memory of our love ever more 

All the birds in the forest they bitterly weep   
Saying, "Where will we shelter or where will we sleep?"   
For the Oak and the Ash, they are all cutten down   
And the walls of bonny Portmore are all down to the ground. 

O bonny Portmore, you shine where you stand   
And the more I think on you the more I think long   
If I had you now as I had once before   
I would cling to the memory of our love ever more   
  
---  
  
I enjoyed writing these 'Quick Fixes,' and welcome any comments you may have, either through email or the guestbook on my website. 

Thank you for reading them, and thank you to the entire Highlander Company for creating the educational, enjoyable, and inspiring experience that will live on as Highlander: The Series. 

Peace to you all,   
Emit 

© 2003 

~ The Gathering 


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